Canada government applauds TransCanada's East Coast pipeline

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Canada's Conservative government said on
Thursday that plans by TransCanada Corp to build an oil
pipeline from Western Canada to the east coast could mean
cheaper prices for refineries and less reliance on foreign
suppliers.

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said the pipeline
project would be subject to an environmental and regulatory
review.

"Our government welcomes the prospect of transporting
Canadian crude oil from Western Canada to consumers and
refineries in Eastern Canada and ultimately to new markets
abroad," Oliver said in a statement.

"Initiatives like this could allow Canadian refineries to
process more potentially lower-priced Canadian oil, enhancing
Canada's energy security and making our country less reliant on
foreign oil," he said.

TransCanada gave the green light to the $12 billion project
on Thursday at a time when its U.S.-bound Keystone XL line
remains stalled in Washington.

Ottawa is keen to open up new markets for the country's oil
and has been intensely lobbying Washington to approve Keystone.

Oliver said that in 2012, 83 percent of crude oil deliveries
to refineries in Canada's eastern provinces came from countries
like Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Angola. He said 92 percent of
deliveries to Quebec refineries were from those countries.